12 Days of Splendour // Day 12 // Tame Impala

Updated: Feb 24

Credit: Getty

Its been an incredible #12daysofsplendour, and with one day to go till the curtains are raised we thought we would finish our series with what is one of the most anticipated acts of the winter; Tame Impala.

What more can we say that hasn’t already been said? The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and producer Kevin Parker is easily one of the biggest acts in the world right now. From humble beginnings in Perths psych-rock scene, Tame Impala have discovered new-found success and critical acclaim with each new album release. Beginning with the distortion-heavy Innerspeaker in 2011, Tame Impala built upon their solid foundation of fans from two early Eps with a debut LP for the ages. Taking a blend of Led Zepplin-like grooves and stoner-rock rhythms the album brought KP and his band into the limelight. Tracks like Solitude Is Bliss, Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind and Desire Be Desire Go, were surefire favourite’s and it wasn’t long until people were begging for more.

It didn’t take long for fans to be provided a heavy dosage of Tame, with Kevin burrowing down back into his studio and resurfacing with Lonerism. The band’s second LP borrowed a lot more aspects from Pink Floyd with much more drawn out songs and experimental sounds in tracks like Apocalypse Dreams, Keep On Lying and Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Can’t Control (longer song titles were popular too). Lonerism had announced that Tame Impala had well and truly arrived, with their name being plastered across festival bills all over the world. No longer were they an underground name, they were well and truly on their way with their fuzz-soaked sound. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards and Elephant had fans salivating with their gorgeous basslines and melodies that still to this day I find myself humming to.

After a brief hiatus, and KP making friends with artists across the world and most notably featuring TWICE on Mark Ronson’s Uptown Special, Tame returned in 2015 with Currents. If Lonerism had put Tame on the map, Currents launched them into super stardom. Opening with the 7-minute epic, Let It Happen, Currents takes listeners on a journey of visceral psych-pop sounds and detourrs from the psychedelic rock roots that the band were renowned for; moving into a much dancier and electro inspired album. Complex layering of synths and guitars meshed with tangible basslines were still present, but tunes like The Moment, Less I Know The Better and New Person/Same Old Mistakes were built to get the feet moving. Many have prematurely hailed the LP as Kevin’s magnum opus, but with so much talent displayed early on and you get the feeling there is plenty left in the tank.

This sets the stage for what is going to be a massive Splendour In The Grass set from KP and his live band. Coming off the back of two new singles, Patience and Borderline, and the peak set-time at Coachella, Tame are primed for a monster Aussie festival. So what is there to expect from the lads? The new Tame boasts a much more disco-infused style with bongos and piano progressions, but you can guarantee they will delve deep into their catalogue and drench the stage and setlist with enough psychedelia to keep fans of all albums happy. Expect a spectacle of lights, colours and confetti alongside a sound that is so rarely found on the live stage these days. Due to their popularity, the main stage will be packed so get in nice and early if you want to be at the front to witness what may be a Splendour set for the ages.

Number 1 Track to look out for:
Apocalypse Dreams – In 2015 I was lucky enough to see Tame perform the dizzying ApocalypseDreams live, and it is still the greatest live rendition of a song I have ever heard. The way KP improves each layer and aspect of the track, draws out the break down and even tacks on a huge outro makes for something to behold live. I won’t talk it up anymore, but it is truly something else.